[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 102 (Wednesday, June 17, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2873-S2874]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         U.S. State Department

  Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I strongly support the resolution offered 
by my colleagues Senator Cortez Masto and Senator Kaine.
  This resolution requires a report from the State Department on the 
human rights practices of the Government of Honduras during the very 
corrupt Presidency of Juan Orlando Hernandez and a report on steps the 
United States has taken to promote human rights and to bring drug 
traffickers and criminals in Honduras to justice.
  During former President Hernandez's time in office, the United 
States--our taxpayers--provided hundreds of millions of dollars in aid 
to Honduras, including to the Honduran security forces.
  So the information requested in this resolution is directly relevant 
to Congress' oversight responsibilities. We have an obligation to make 
certain that taxpayer dollars are served in the

[[Page S2874]]

purpose of the United States and our citizens.
  There is no reason why the State Department should not do this 
oversight.
  According to U.S. Federal prosecutors, Mr. Hernandez--the former two-
term President of Honduras--was at the center of one of the largest and 
most violent drug trafficking conspiracies in the entire world. Mr. 
Hernandez used the Honduran military and he used the Honduran police to 
arrest, to imprison, to torture, and in some cases to murder his 
political opponents and independent journalists who challenged and 
exposed the rampant corruption and abuses of his government.
  In March 2024, a U.S. Federal jury in Manhattan found Mr. Hernandez 
guilty of three charges: conspiring to import tons of cocaine into the 
United States, using and carrying machine guns and destructive devices 
to advance that trafficking conspiracy, and conspiring to use such 
weapons. He was sentenced to 45 years' imprisonment and was fined $8 
million.
  Mr. Hernandez claimed that he was the victim of ``political 
persecution,'' but there has been absolutely no credible evidence to 
support that fraudulent claim. His conviction and sentence were 
affirmed on appeal. Far from being treated unfairly, Mr. Hernandez was 
afforded every right of due process and a fair trial available to 
criminal defendants under our system of justice.
  Astonishingly and to my dismay, on December 1, 2025, Mr. Hernandez 
received a full and complete pardon from President Trump. Mr. Hernandez 
is free because of President Trump's pardon, but he does remain a 
convicted felon.
  The resolution we are voting on today calls for a full accounting of 
the Hernandez administration's violations of human rights and 
connections--direct connections--with drug traffickers, the corruption 
of government officials, and the involvement in torture, murder, and 
other crimes of violence.
  It also requires an assessment of the likelihood that U.S. aid to the 
Honduran security forces was used to support activities related to drug 
trafficking and related crimes. None of us want our foreign aid to be 
used for drug running. This is information the State Department has 
access to and that Congress and the American people, as well as the 
people of Honduras, have every right to know.
  Again, there is absolutely nothing partisan or controversial about 
this resolution. All of us--all of us--are against corruption. All of 
us demand accountability of foreign aid that is financed by taxpayers. 
All of us want to bring to justice those who commit crimes that involve 
drugs that cause so much damage to the men and women and the young 
people in all of our States.
  I commend the Senators from Nevada and Virginia for offering the 
resolution, and I urge its adoption.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Armstrong). The Senator from Tennessee.